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Monday, January 9, 2012

Birthday Buddies

Once upon a time there were two little girls, born on the exact same day, but in very different locations.

Yoselin Lorena was welcomed by her family in the Dominican Republic and Sydney Grace was welcomed by her family in the United States.

The day was January 9, 2005.

It wasn't until they were 5 years old that they first became aware of each other. A couple weeks before the girls' birthday, Sydney's mama was looking through children on Compassion's website. Out of curiosity she typed in her daughter's birthdate to see if there were any Compassion children who shared the same birthday. "A birthday buddy would make a unique and interesting birthday gift for Sydney, " she thought.

Sure enough, there was a child who was also born on January 9th. When Sydney's mama saw that she was also born in the same year ~ making it an exact match ~ she did not linger, but immediately chose to sponsor Yoselin.

Today is January 9th and the girls turn 7. For two years Sydney's mama has taken the responsibility to establish a relationship with Yoselin and help Sydney understand what sponsorship means. This year for Sydney's birthday, she will be handed the reigns when it comes to continuing this relationship. Her mama will still guide her, but she will be the one writing the letters.

During this past year Sydney's mama wrote a book for her called Birthday Buddies.

Although somewhat fictionalized, it tells the story of two girls who share a birthday and are building a relationship through letters.